When Disagreement Does Not Become Conflict
from What Keeps Us Human to One Another? Hosted by Prof. RJ Starr
A viewer left a comment under one of RJ Starr’s lectures disagreeing with part of what he had said. The comment went straight at the idea. He answered, the viewer answered back, and the exchange stayed with the subject until it ended. Neither person had to be cast as foolish, dishonest, or defective for the other to keep a position. The disagreement did not need a villain. In this piece from What Keeps Us Human to One Another?, RJ Starr asks what kept that disagreement from becoming a conflict. He follows the more familiar case, in which an argument slides off the idea and onto the person holding it. The person becomes a type, the type becomes the rebuttal, and a label answers in place of a reply. Once the subject stops carrying the disagreement, the people have to carry it, and the exchange becomes harder to leave. The piece then tests that distinction against harder cases. Some ideas carry consequences for actual people, some statements reveal plain contempt, and calm, careful language can still treat a person with complete disregard. The line, as the piece draws it, is not between polite and rude disagreement. It is whether the other person remains larger than the position being argued about. Written and read by RJ Starr. Read the piece: https://profrjstarr.com/what-keeps-us-human-to-one-another/disagreement-without-conflict #whatkeepsushuman #profrjstarr
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